Dumfries and Galloway Accommodation:
Annan
Auldgirth
Cairnryan
Canonbie
Carrutherstown
Castle Douglas
Colvend
Dalbeattie
Dumfries
Gatehouse Of Fleet
Glenluce
Gretna
Gretna Green
Kippford
Kirkbean
Kirkcudbright
Langholm
Lockerbie
Moffat
New Galloway
Newton Stewart
Portpatrick
Sanquhar
Southerness
Stranraer
Thornhill
Torthorwald
Whithorn
Wigtown

Dumfries and Galloway

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County Town: Dumfries
Population: 145,800
Area: 6,426 sq km
Dumfries and Galloway Jobs
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Rather interesting Dumfries and Galloway facts
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Famous Dates
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Food Legends:Folk Customs:
Burns Night
Haunted Britain:
Cultural Britain:
Lore & legend:
Sawney Bean
Natural Britain:
Grey Mare’s Tail
Rhins of Galloway
River Esk
River Tweed
Solway Coast
Solway Firth
The Southern Uplands

Events

May
Annual Dumfries Model Railway Exhibition
Spring Garden Festival

June
Kirkcudbright Jazz Festival
Medieval Fayre
Moffat Spring Craft Fair
The Eden Festival

July
Annual Riding of the Marches Ceremonies
Galloway Children’s Festival
Wickerman Festival

August
Annual Flower / Horticultural Show
Bladnoch Folk & Blues Festival
Galloway Country Fair
Galloway Plant Fair
Galloway Wood Festival
Kippford Craft Fair
Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail
Moffat Show
North West Dumfries Muckle Doo
Portpatrick Folk Festival
Scottish Alternative Games
St. Ninian Festival
The Border Gathering
The Kirkcudbright Tattoo

September
Creetown Country Music Festival
Dalbeattie Rock Weekend
Dumfries Film Festival
Moniaive Action Project
Morris & Mummers
Robert Burns Festival
St. Ninian Festival
Wigtown Literary Book Town Festival

October
Gaelforce Festival
Hightae Annual Craft Fair
Lockerbie Jazz Festival
Moffat Walking Festival
Tango Extravaganza
Wigtown Literary Book Town Festival

December
Carols in the Car Park
Christmas In The Galloway Forest Park
Moffat Christmas Festival

Dumfries and Galloway - 173 places to stay

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Smuggled away on Scotland’s south-western frontier, Dumfries and Galloway is something of a rural Shangri-La where agriculture, forestry and immaculate coastlines, are all in on one of the country’s best kept secrets. The Western Isles , the Highlands , Loch Lomond and the Trossachs ; all enjoy a degree of fame. But Dumfries and Galloway – where the Mull of Galloway, Scotland’s most southerly point, can be found – is a more clandestine destination. And all the better for it. Mobile phone reception is patchy, at best. With dairy farms stretching out along both sides of almost every road, cows appear to outnumber humans. The Belted Galloways, with their characteristic white belt that divides their torso, chew the cud as the graze on impossibly green fields, hard at work in creating the area’s most cherished export. Dumfries and Galloway is famed for its dairy products; cheese, milk, cream, and (most graciously received by children of all ages) ice cream, are all transported out of the region and into fridges and freezers up and down the length of the UK. Naturally, the area’s biggest draw is the pacific fields, forestry and coastline, that can afford those sick of the concrete jungle some respite in the country. Yes, it rains a lot, but the midges are not as voracious as they are in Argyll – at least, they’ll leave some flesh on the bone. Rolling hills, carpeted in verdure, frame a picture of sylvan splendour. Birds of prey hunt in the warm air currents over fields home to plump little rabbits, mice and other rodents – all a tasty morsel for hawks and buzzards. Owls and bats take the nightshift. Deer secret themselves in dense woodland, foraging for food. And among all this, mankind treads gently. So lightly, that even the country’s imperiled amphibian community feel safe here – Natterjack toads and Great Crested newts have made the area’s nature reserves their home. Here, the RSPB maintains a strong presence, particularly at the Mull of Galloway, where it assumes the role of caretaker for the flora and fauna in the Mull of Galloway Nature Reserve. With this idyllic picture in mind, it is all the more understandable that Dumfries and Galloway should traditionally have a magnetic pull on writers and artists. Kirkcudbright , on the banks of the River Nith, is known as the Artists’ Town. It’s recent exhibition of the Face of Scotland was a magnificent collection of the nation’s finest portraits, including Alexander Nasmyth’s Robert Burns , and Hugh Douglas Hamilton’s painting of The Young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stewart. Kirkcudbright, along with Castle Douglas , Gatehouse Of Fleet, Newton Stewart, and Creetown have played their part in British cinema, all at one time locations for Robin Hardy’s 1973 film, ‘The Wicker Man’. Dundrennan now plays host to the Wicker Man Music Festival , gleefully independent, it has been steadily growing each year, with acts such as Gary Numan and the Red Hot Chili Peppers gracing the event. Visitors to Dumfries and Galloway’s towns can rest assured; any similarities between Dumfries and Galloway’s small towns and Summerisle are purely cosmetic. Human sacrifice is still very much frowned upon. There are, however, plenty of more wholesome activities to keep you and the family amused. Take it as read, that there is an abundance of walking opportunities, both coastal and woodland; and accommodation, too, is excellent throughout the area, with five-star rated camp and caravan sites, hotels and guest houses to meet all budgets. Dumfries and Galloway has something for everyone: Golfing, fishing, shooting, can keep the more gentrified adults happy. At Palnackie, take the shoes and socks off and take part in the Grand International Flounder Trampling – potentially someway off being an Olympic event. Petting zoos like the Mabie Animal Farm introduce the wee ones to goats, lamas, sheep, donkeys and horses, Make the kids work for their sweets and ice cream; take them to the Twynholm, where the Cocoabean Chocolate factory will set them to work in blue hair-nets and overalls as they make their own animal shaped chocolate. Oh, if the little horrors are not gracious enough to give you a bite in the car home you can of course buy some of the most divine chocolates imaginable. From crème brûlée to rum ‘n’ raisin, there is every temptation to pull into a lay-by and gorge yourself sick. Twynholm is also David Coulthard’s home town, and any fans of the generously jawed formula one star can visit the museum in his honour. Tongland with its art-deco water tower and Thomas Telford Bridge, packs a couple of architectural marvels into its small holding on the road from Dumfries to Kirkcudbright. Grander still, a number of castles stand guard in the area. Once upon a time Dumfries and Galloway was on the frontline when England’s excursions north would end in bloodshed. Caerlaverock Castle , now lovingly tended to by Historic Scotland, was once under seige from King Edward I , as the 14th Century’s first breath sounded the declaration of war. If you visit this Caerlaverock (it’s just eight miles south of Dumfries) and there’s a war a raging, fear not, it’s just the local history and drama group re-enacting the castle’s historic battles. No need to dodge the archers then. From Drummore’s sea view, with magnificent camping, the finest sea fishing in Scotland, and a rugged coastline that witnesses miles of craggy rocks eventually give way to sandy beaches; to picturesque wee towns like Dumfries, where Robert ‘Rabbie’ Burns spent his final days, Dumfries and Galloway has more than enough to assuage the kids. There’s plenty for the adults to savour, too. The peace and quiet is just one of them.

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